COMMONWEALTH PENNSYLVANIA v. JONATHAN REASON (07/06/79)

No. 259 and 286 January Term, 1977, Appeal from the Judgments of Sentence of the Court of Common Pleas, Trial Division, Criminal Section of Philadelphia County, Imposed on Indictment Nos. 2157, 2159, January Session, 1975.

Appellant, Jonathan Reason, was arrested on December 21, 1974, at the scene of the robbery and murder of Simon Spivey. On March 31, 1975, appellant filed an application to suppress inculpatory statements which he made to the police following his arrest. On that same date, the lower court scheduled a suppression hearing to be held on May 15; the Commonwealth filed an answer to said application on May 12. At the suppression hearing, the appellant objected to the Commonwealth's answer on the grounds that it was filed late in violation of Pa.R.Crim.P. 308.*fn1 Had the suppression

[ 485 Pa. Page 452]

court applied the terms of Rule 308(a), the appellant's application to suppress would have been granted. However, the suppression court admitted the Commonwealth's answer as filed and following the hearing, the appellant's application to suppress was denied.

In July of 1976, a jury found appellant guilty of murder of the first degree and robbery. Post-verdict motions were denied and appellant was sentenced, on January 6, 1977, to life imprisonment for murder and a concurrent term of ten to twenty years imprisonment for robbery. This appeal was then taken.*fn2

Appellant contends that the lower court erred in denying his application to suppress due to the alleged late filing of the Commonwealth's answer in violation of Rule 308(a) footnote 1, supra. This contention is without merit.

Our website includes the first part of the main text of the court's opinion.
To read the entire case, you must purchase the decision for download. With purchase,
you also receive any available docket numbers, case citations or footnotes, dissents
and concurrences that accompany the decision.
Docket numbers and/or citations allow you to research a case further or to use a case in a
legal proceeding. Footnotes (if any) include details of the court's decision. If the document contains a simple affirmation or denial without discussion,
there may not be additional text.

Buy This Entire Record For
$7.95

Download the entire decision to receive the complete text, official citation,
docket number, dissents and concurrences, and footnotes for this case.